hope

Hope of Heaven in the Midst of Grief on Earth

March 4, 2021 by Ellen 4 Comments

Surely this year will start off better than last year ended. That was my hope as January rolled around. Sadly, things just didn’t work out the way I hoped. It seems as if my family would be walking through another season of grief. Hard, gut wrenching grief.

“…that you may not grieve as others who have no hope…” 1 Thessalonians 4:13b (ESV)

Honestly, I’d like to have a talk with the apostle Paul about this verse. We don’t grieve as unbelievers? Really?

“Excuse me, Mr. Apostle Paul, but I disagree with this scripture! Cause let me tell you, I can ugly cry with the best of those with no hope. I snot cry and wail in pain because it hurts that my loved one is no longer here. I can’t talk to them, have dinner with them, I can’t hug or touch them. Not only that, tears run from my eyes, snot pours from my nose and spit drips out of my gaping mouth. Yeah, I grieve. Really ugly grief. So, help me with this verse, please Mr. Apostle Paul!”

Physically, I DO grieve as those without hope. Spiritually, the hope I have should make my grief more bearable. After all, my hope as a believer is in a resurrected body and eternal life and heaven. My hope is that one day I will see my loved ones again. They will be part of the great cloud of witnesses that I hope will greet me when I walk through heaven’s gates. But there’s one thing:

It’s so hard to wrap my brain around eternal life when I am grieving here on earth.

My hope is in heaven. I know this earth is not my home. I know this. But I struggle to imagine the reality of heaven. I know it has streets of gold (Revelation 21:21), but I know nothing about being there with my loved ones. I cannot visualize this (and I am a visual person!).

More grief grips my heart when reality sets in. Those I’ve loved are no longer here with me. I’m left behind without them. They are home, safe and sound, like after a long trip. They can exhale and rest in eternal peace; all of us here on earth are still traveling. They are worshipping at the feet of Jesus; we are merely playing our worship music. We’re not jealous of them. Not exactly. We’re just longing to be home with them.

One commentary I read explained it this way: We have hope of spending eternity with Jesus. Instead of thinking about heaven with all my loved ones, I need to focus on life with Jesus. I need to change my perspective. Again, though, it’s hard to wrap my brain around a glorious future with Jesus. What does that even look like? My eyes are cloudy from the tears of my grief. My perspective is cloudy.

I believe, but I can’t see.

With sorrow after sorrow piled high, the thought of eternal life with Jesus doesn’t console me like it should. It doesn’t fill the hole left in my heart.

Something’s missing…

(Join me next week, as I continue pondering the hope we have.)

Grace be with you,

It’s True! It’s ALL True!

April 18, 2019 by Ellen 8 Comments

When I saw him, I fell at his feet as though dead. Then he placed his right hand on me and said: “Do not be afraid. I am the First and the Last.” Revelation 1:17 (NIV)

My Bible study question asked: Why did John fall down as if dead?
Oh, there are all the usual reasons:

Like Isaiah and Peter, John could have realized his utter insignificance and worthlessness before a pure and holy God (Isaiah 6:5, Luke 5:8)
Perhaps he remembered Moses’ conversation with God: ‘No man can see Me and live!’ (Exodus 33:20).

These are both plausible and possible reasons. But here’s my theory. Walk with me for a moment in the sandals of the apostle John. Perhaps these were the thoughts that ran through his mind:

They call me the disciple Jesus loves, His beloved disciple. That seems so odd, since I’m just an ordinary fisherman. But Jesus chose me, and I became a part of His inner circle. Following Jesus from village to village, along dry, dusty roads, I learned so much from Him. I believed all He said, all His teachings. I watched Him perform miracles! And yet…

I was there when they arrested Him in the garden. I watched them drag Him away. I was there when they nailed Him to the cross and I saw Him breathe His last. What now?

He’s gone…He’s gone…They’ve crucified Him. Deep in the pit of my soul, I was afraid. Scared that He was indeed dead, that I would never see Him again. But three days later, Mary Magdalene ran up to Peter and me.

“He’s gone! They’ve taken His body!”

We ran back to the tomb. It was EMPTY! My heart skipped a beat. A shiver of excitement ran through me. And relief, oh the relief that flooded my soul. Jesus was alive! The belief in my mind had moved to my heart. I believed – without even seeing His body – that some how, some way, Jesus was alive!

“So the other disciple (John) who had first come to the tomb entered then also, and he saw (the empty tomb) and believed.” John 20:8

But, where is He? On the cross He said something about paradise. Where is that?

A few days later, we were camped out in the upper room. Our sorrow had overwhelmed us. We were scared. We couldn’t go out, because the people hated us. Suddenly, Jesus was there, among us. He spoke with us, and ate with us. He showed us His nail scarred hands. He HAD died, and risen again! Just like He said. Seeing Him resurrected, my faith was confirmed.

After a few days, He left again, to go to His Father…our Father.

I began to spread the word of the resurrected Christ, and how He saves us from our sins. How He loved us enough to die on that cross for us, even while we are still sinners. I told people He would come again!

I preached it, I taught it as best I could. But how was it all supposed to work? Where is heaven? How will we live with Him forever? What will our bodies be like? I had so much hope, and yet so many questions.

Beloved, we are [even here and] now children of God, and it is not yet made clear what we will be [after His coming]. We know that when He comes and is revealed, we will [as His children] be like Him, because we will see Him just as He is [in all His glory]. 1 John 3:2 (AMP)

And now, here I am, exiled on Patmos because of my beliefs. I was in the Spirit, and I heard a voice talking to me. I looked around to see who could be here. And that’s when I saw Him!

It’s Him! It’s Jesus! I fell at His feet, like a dead man.

Oh, my Lord and my God! It’s all true. Everything. Your death, burial, and resurrection. Everything. Even this place that You’re giving me a glimpse of, this new home. Yes, I believed You! But I also had doubts about how it would work! But it’s true. Oh, my Jesus, I bow before You. You have fulfilled all my hopes and dreams. You are the Way, the Truth and the Light. I’m home now. I’m really home.

Possibly, just possibly, John was overwhelmed – not at the sight of his glorified Savior, but that it’s all true. Everything Jesus had told him. It’s ALL TRUE! John realized in that instant, without a shadow of a doubt, that he would have eternal life, he would have a glorified body, and he would live forever with Jesus. He knew without a doubt, because he DID see. John knew that his faith was not in vain and all his hopes were fulfilled.

We have faith and believe now. But on that glorious day, when we get to heaven, we will SEE without a doubt that eternal life IS the truth of the Gospel. That Jesus not only died and rose again, but that He will be living among us (Revelation 21:3).

Grace be with you,